The present invention relates generally to the field of photography, and more particularly to a self-annotating camera.
Currently, digital photographs are typically produced with a cryptic filename, such as, e.g., 012202.img. This cryptic filename has little, if any, significance to the photographer. In a majority of the cases, the cryptic filename is of little use to the photographer because the filename does not reveal any information regarding the context and/or content of the photograph. This problem is somewhat alleviated by the fact that most filenames may be changed by the user, electronically. Moreover, in most cases, annotation of digital pictorial views can be effected by a computerized technique. For example, software programs are available which give the photographer the ability to manually annotate digital photographs.
Many cameras in the prior art have the capability of automatically printing the date and time on the photograph. For example, a data imprinting apparatus in a camera for imprinting data onto film, and imprinting means for imprinting data memorized by a memory means onto the film are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,250 to Arifuku et al. Also, a camera having an annotation system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,689,742 to Chamberlain, IV.
Moreover, even in the limited number of cases where the camera has the ability to annotate the photograph and/or filename, the information available to the prior art cameras is limited. Additionally, the prior art cameras do not have the capability to automatically obtain meaningful information which may be printed on the photographs and/or incorporated into electronic files associated with the photograph.
Thus, a need exists for a self-annotating camera having the capability of obtaining and printing various pieces of information on photographs and/or obtaining and incorporating such information into electronic files associated with the photograph (e.g., a filename), wherein the information is relevant to identifying the context and/or content of the photograph.
The present invention provides a camera configured to automatically detect or otherwise obtain information relating to a photograph via multiple information sources, including at least one information source which is internal to the camera and at least one information source which is external to the camera. The camera is further configured to print at least a portion of the information on the photograph itself, or to utilize at least a portion of the information in generating a filename for the photograph or in an electronic file associated with the photograph, such as, e.g., a database associated with the photograph. The information includes, for example, the time and date that the photograph was taken, the geographic location in which the photograph was taken, weather conditions, the name(s) of any of the people in the photograph, etc.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a method for use in conjunction with a camera for providing annotation relating to a photograph taken using the camera is disclosed. The method includes the steps of obtaining information relating to the photograph via a plurality of information sources, wherein at least one of the information sources is internal to the camera and at least one of the information sources is external to the camera, producing annotation corresponding to the information obtained from the plurality of information sources, and annotating at least one of a photograph and an electronic file associated with the photograph, utilizing the produced annotation.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description.